WASHINGTON (CNN) – Rep. Aaron Schock said Friday that he was "grateful" to the FBI for thwarting a terrorist attack targeting his office in Springfield, Illinois.

"My office was notified today of the attempted terrorist attack on both the Federal Building and my Congressional Office in Springfield," Schock said in a statement. "I am incredibly grateful to the FBI for their fine work in preventing this terrorist attack."

The Illinois Republican's office was reportedly the "secondary target" of Michael C. Finton, also known as "Talib Islam."

Finton had been supplied with a van filled explosives, which were harmless, by an FBI officer posing as an al Qaeda operative. Finton reportedly then drove to the Paul Findley Federal Office Building and Courthouse, which is close to Schock's office, and attempted to detonate the explosives with a cell phone. Finton was arrested immediately.

soundoff(87 Responses)

Incase you people do not realize it, this is neither Bush or Obama. It was the FBI that did it's job. Come on people and give credit where credit is due.

September 25, 2009 04:19 pm at 4:19 pm |

eolufemi

Wow, politics as usual for some of you huh?

September 25, 2009 04:22 pm at 4:22 pm |

Steve in Denver

@Kevin in Ohio: "I challenge you to find one single thing that Beck said that was not false."

You are correct, sir. I can not think of one thing Beck has ever said that is not false. There are very few things that beck says that are true.

September 25, 2009 04:24 pm at 4:24 pm |

The Dude

How is this President tearing up the Constitution. That's just another empty right-wing talking point. It was Bush/Cheney who tromped on the Bill of Rights.

You can prove that Glen Beck is lying when his mouth opens.

September 25, 2009 04:24 pm at 4:24 pm |

RLE

Enough you are the epitome of idiocy, in other words you are an idiot; it was Bush's watch when 9/11 took place...duh

September 25, 2009 04:24 pm at 4:24 pm |

Nathan

People - seriously. Get a grip. There was a terrorist plot and the law enforcement stopped it. This happens under every president, and who is President has nothing to do with it. Let's stop turning every single thing that happens in our country into some huge partisan battle. We don't need to demonize anyone here, except for terrorists. Terrorists are bad because they are such unyielding ideologues that they're willing to commit violence. Every one of you who is weaving this into a political statement is one step closer to that extreme than a sane person. It's one thing to vote; it's another to try to turn every event into an advertisement for your political party. It doesn't matter if terrorists are "liberal" or "conservative;" they're TERRORISTS. This "Go Team" attitude that all of you have is what is destroying (or has already destroyed) real political discourse in this country.

September 25, 2009 04:26 pm at 4:26 pm |

GREG

So Obama is struggling because of the "mess he inherited from Bush"... every time he screws up, all we hear from the left is that it's Bush's fault and he's doing the best he can with what he was handed.

Yet, when it comes to busting a terror plot... all the policies Bush put in place to give us the tools we need to fight terrorism... those are magically reset back to zero, and it's Obama's policies he's magically implemented in the last few months.. so HE gets all the credit?

This whole blame/credit game is STUPID! Get a life people... but beyond the stupidity of the argument to begin with is the blatant hypocrisy. I don't care who's to blame and who gets credit... but some consistency from EITHER side of the argument would be cool!

September 25, 2009 04:27 pm at 4:27 pm |

Stu

But according to the left, the whole war on terror thing was concocted by Bush so he could invade Iraq for oil!!!!!

September 25, 2009 04:35 pm at 4:35 pm |

Stu

Lacrossemom...regardless of what is written into Obamacare...illegals will continue to get free healthcare as they do now. There is federal law which prohibits any hospital/provider accepting federal money from asking if a patient is an illegal alien or legal resident/citizen. So all an illegal has to do is go to the hospital, give any name they wish, and be treated. The bill will be written off when the collection agency can't find the patient!

CNN will of course, delete this because CNN censors don't want this truth coming out!

September 25, 2009 04:38 pm at 4:38 pm |

John, Brooklyn, New York

Put that in your pipe and smoke it, you Republican fear mongers who are telling everyone that Obama would make us less safe.

September 25, 2009 04:39 pm at 4:39 pm |

Carl

Here's one.

Every poster here is a dumb piece of trash.

The terrorists that thought they had bombs are dumb pieces of trash.

And I'm a dumb piece of trash for actually thinking the hate that people spew from their typing is fixable.

September 25, 2009 04:40 pm at 4:40 pm |

Robin

LacrosseMom(stuck in moderation) September 25th, 2009 4:05 pm ET

@ Kevin in Ohio:

Here is one example of what Beck has said that is a LIE,

" That healthcare will be available to illegals" Which is FALSE. If you would do some research and read HR 3200 article 246 it clearly sates:

" Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are NOT LAWFULLY present in the United States."

Got it?
======================================================

Barack is going to give them amnesty. Remember? The bill is sitting on his desk. So once they have amnesty, they will have free health care that taxpayers will pay for.

Got it?

September 25, 2009 04:46 pm at 4:46 pm |

HonestMistake

LacrosseMom(stuck in moderation), if you did your homework you would know that within the bill, it did not call out any method to verify that those applying for the medical benefits be U.S. citizens. After Joe Wilson brought the issue to light, they offered new wording saying that those applying had to show verification of citizenship. It is loopholes like these that always trip up large, rushed through legislation.

September 25, 2009 04:47 pm at 4:47 pm |

WhatchaGonnaSayNowCheney

I wonder whether the young Republican will call Mr. Cheney and let him know that democrats are actually able to keep Americans safe?

September 25, 2009 04:54 pm at 4:54 pm |

mjm

Some people will give Obama credit for anything and everything. He has nothing to do with this. Remember, Obama fist bumped the Arab world, he thinks we're all good now.

The FBI get the credit for this and for stopping three other recent plots.

Bush gets credit for getting the government out of the FBI's way.

September 25, 2009 04:54 pm at 4:54 pm |

Jack in Florida

Kevin in OH must be a Republican as he can only tear down the comments on this blog and offer no positive thoughts of his own......oh yeah, that's right, Republicans don't have any positive thoughts.

Congratulations to the FBI and Homeland Security for doing their jobs well!

September 25, 2009 04:54 pm at 4:54 pm |

DickCheneyTheMadharchodh

ALL BS....

every tom, dick and harry wants "attention" these days...

go to hell.. where is the healthcare policy , my pay hike ???

September 25, 2009 04:55 pm at 4:55 pm |

Dutch/Bad Newz, VA

@ Wake Up

Defense infrastructure, huh? It was in place under GWB, then why weren't these people apprehended sooner? Were they just keeping a watchful eye on these guys until they attacked us? It's one thing to invent policy, it's another thing to implement it.

September 25, 2009 04:56 pm at 4:56 pm |

Darko

Bush's programs... Obama trying to reap the praise from them while dismantling them at the same time.

Funny how EVERYTHING else is laid at Bush's feet...

September 25, 2009 04:57 pm at 4:57 pm |

Chitown Jason

I fail to see what this article has anything to do with Obama, Bush, or Glenn Beck.

The FBI did their job and thwarted a plot against an elected official. This is good news, regardless of what letter is in front of his name on CSPAN.

September 25, 2009 04:59 pm at 4:59 pm |

Darko

***********
" That healthcare will be available to illegals" Which is FALSE. If you would do some research and read HR 3200 article 246 it clearly sates:

" Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are NOT LAWFULLY present in the United States."
*************

That phrase only applies to that one small section of the bill. And pray tell why the dems voted down the amendment that would create a policy to specifically make sure that they didn't get the benefits through other loop holes... yeeaaahhhh.

September 25, 2009 05:00 pm at 5:00 pm |

Mike Syracuse, NY

OK Libs, so when things aren't going well, like losing 3 million jobs since he was sworn in, the line is 'he's only been there 9 months, give him a chance' but when something on a very rare occasion goes right, it's all thanks to Obama. Hey, if you want credit for this, then take the blame for a failed stimulus, a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan with the highest US causulties to date, North Korea and Iran thumbing their noses at us, and Israel, Poland and the Czech Republic all getting stiffed by Obama's policies.

September 25, 2009 05:02 pm at 5:02 pm |

mjm

LacrosseMom(stuck in moderation)....

Under current law illegal’s qualify for Medicaid if it is determined that they would meet the requirements for Medicaid had it not been for their illegal status. There are some 2 million illegal’s on Medicaid right now.

If HR 3200 includes a public option, the same rules will apply extending coverage to even more illegal’s under current law. It's what you call a loop hole.

Bet you didn't know that, did you?

September 25, 2009 05:05 pm at 5:05 pm |

Jo Jo

Please stick with the topic at hand. Wow! I can't believe how much hate people have in their hearts (if they even have a heart). The topic was how a bomb threat was foiled. One would think this was good news but some of you just can't see beyond the hate to give credit where credit is due. I feel sorry for you all and hope and pray God will unharden some of your hearts!

September 25, 2009 05:07 pm at 5:07 pm |

Farrell in Houston

I guess this guy was the only one in the office and it's all about him.